Method of pressing zipper tapes



Jan. 2, 1951 w. T. CARSON 2,536,262

ETI-10D O PRESS IPP P? Patented Jan. 2, 1951 u1,.\u-T13Dv STAT Es PATENT OFFICE METHOD ori-PRES sind;V zijPIiEit-TPI'JS William T:v Carson, Haddonfiel', NsJs. Applioat'ion october: 22, 1949;.serlalno; 1.223955?v (C12. 2sf-w42r SCIaim'sfl. 1

*This invention relates generally to'tl'ler'nand u'factlr'e of zipper tape and more particularly to improvements m apparatus for drying beaded zipper tapes` after the same' have been dyed their requisite colors.

In the manufacture-of zipper tapes prior to` the present'invention'it has been the customary pl'a'ctici-iH toK initially dye and dry-press` the flat Woven tape' fabric preliminarily to securing to one longitudinal edge thereof the top and bottorn cords which form the bead to which the zipper elements are subsequently clinched. Such' practice has been followed because no' provision has been made heretofore to permit pressing of the beaded tape Without crushing thev bead into such flattened shape as to make' it difficult',A if not impossible, to subsequently secure the zipper' elements thereto.

Also, the prior conventional practice of initially preparing the flat Woven tape and then securing thereto the zipper-retaining bead necessarily required separate dyeing of the tape andY its. bead, and inasmuch as the tape andthe bead-forming cords are usually supplied by different sources of manufacture or in diierent lots,y it is frequently the cas-e that the manufacture of the beaded Zipper tape iinds that for a tape fabric of a given color there is on hand an insufcient or excessive supply of the same colorcord, so that upon completion of a beaded tape of a certain color, there remains a surplus stock' of tape or cord of a color which is not immediately usable and which must be stored away for an indenite period against the uncertain eventuality that one or the other may be' ultimately usable.

' Having in mind the foregoing, it is among tliej objects of the present invention to provide an apparatus which is capable of pressing beaded zipper tapes without crushing' the zipper-retaining bead edge thereof, thereby making possible the assembly of tape and bead-forming cords preliminarily to dyeing of the finished beaded tape to any desired color. As a consequence, the apparatus of the present invention makes possible theY utilization of tape fabrics and cords supplied inA natural color and the dyeing of the completely fabricated' beaded zipper tape to iii-- sureexactcolor matching of the tape, its beaded edge; andthe binding yarn employed to secure thebead-forming cords to the tape. Further, the presentl invention also makes it practicable to re'dyeto any desired color previously finished beaded! vzipper tapes.H Inasmuch` as the present invention makes available beaded zipper tape of quirements andtlroseof hisellis-tumors.

Figure 3vv isf anA enlarged perspectiveV view of' another' setof'rolls' forming part of "the 'present apparatus'.

Referring' new morepartic'ularly tothe" draw; igSQriif/'WillV b' bslv'dthat the Difeset tion'relates'l to ythey manufacture orlo'eaded zipper tapes and more particularly to the pressing andi drying ofs'u'c-h tapes after the same haveV been dyed; the" zipperA tape"Y treated by thev apparatua of theA present Vinvention being of the convene tional typev fcrmed'of arelatlvely narrow flatwek I0, of any suitable material, preferably woven cloth having applied to one longitudinali edge thereof", top and bottom beadforrningf cordsv l` l I'Y suitablyr seculpdv to the topbody` by! a b'indingyarn l2. y

Y Theco'rds l-H so secured to tlie edge of'tliev flatjtape lilprovide' a longitudinally extending` bead to which the zipper elements' (not shown-l` are adapted to' loe'v suhseuuehtly` clinched` In. accordance with the principles of* the present invention; `the tape body lIl); the bead'iorming cordsl` I't-Il and'thebinding yarns i2" mjayall be' forrneci'of material in their natural co1or,--the beaded? zippenv tape so formed being* thereafter' dyed to any desiredl colorby anyV suitabl'el dyeingr PI'CGSS- As Ashown ,in figura l; the'v apparatus offl the present' i'iivericiongenerally comprisesy yiai-,suitablyjournalled main supplyV roll l3lupon-gwhicn are# wound' a' plurality of separate rolls` lil- -l 4l of the` beaded zipper/tapes, previously dyedt siied'coloi-'sL/tliese rollsgbeing' arrahge ably* Sijdlelt along th" Supply"V 1'011 Arranged immediately in advance of the tape supply roll is a suitable standard l5 provided at its upper edge with a horizontally extending guide bar I6 fitted with longitudinally spaced guide pins I1 to insure parallel travel of the several tapes over the bar and into and through a bath I8 of a suitable sizing liquid, e. g. a starch solution or the like, such bath being contained in a trough-shaped vessel I9 suitably provided in the bottom thereof with a revoluble guide roll |98.

Disposed above the sizing vessel I9 are a pair of suitably journalled squeegee rolls -2I between Which the tapes travel and which operate upon the tapes to squeeze therefrom the'excess sizing liquid, the several tapes being thereafter drawn under and over a set of relatively fixed tension bars or rods 22, 23 and 24 disposed just in advance of a series of internally heated rotary drying drums 25.

These drying drums are respectively provided at corresponding ends thereof with intermeshing gears 2t and are so adapted to be rotated in unison by a single prime mover, such as an electric motor 2l, suitably belted or otherwise drive-- connected to any one of the drums. Each of the drums is internally heated, in accordance with conventional practice, as, for example, oy gas burners which project axially into the interior of each drum in the form of suitably perforated gas burner pipes 23, the outer ends of which are connected, as at 29, to a common gassupplying manifold 30.

The tapes nioistened with sizing liquid passes through and between successive pairs of the drying drums 25 operating in the directions indi cated by the arrows and finally emerge completely dry from the last drum in the series for de livery to and between a pair of cooperating slack take-up rolls 3| and 32 of which the lower roll 3| is adapted to be driven by a motor 33. The upper roll 32 is suitably mounted to freely float upon the driven roll 3l and is of a Weight sufficient to press the intervening tapes against the drive roll and so insure the requisite longitudinal traverse of the several tapes through the rolls 3l and 32 as it is fed thereto from the final drying drum.

Figure 2 illustrates the preferred construction of the drying drums 25, While Figure 3 shows the preferred construction of all of the solid rolls, such as the squeegee rolls 2li- 2l and the slack take-up rolls 3I-32.

It will be noted that the drying drums 25 are each provided with correspondingly spaced circumferentially extending grooves 34 in the tape traversing peripheral surfaces thereof, these grooves 34 being each of a depth and shape to snugly accommodate therein the bead-forming cord secured to one face of the woven tape IQ. Inasmuch as the grooves 3Q are correspondingly spaced lengthwise of the drums, the registering grooves of each adjoining pair of the drums provides a passage 35 therebetween for shaping the beaded edge of the tape as it passes through and between said pair of drying rolls. These passages are shown most clearly in Figure 2, wherein they are each designated by the reference numeral 35, it being noted that the passages .35 are spaced apart lengthwise of the .drying rollsja; distance sufficient to permit each pairfof the latter to.' embrace therebetween and press the fiat: body vided with longitudinally spaced circumferentially extending grooves 36, the spacing of these grooves lengthwise of their respective rolls beine.r in correspondence with the spacing of the grooves 34 of the drying rolls. In addition, the guide roll I9a in the sizing vessel I9, as well as the tension bars 22, 23 and 24 are each similarly provided with circumferentially extending grooves longitudinally spaced in accordance with the spacing of the grooves in the drying drums and in the squeegee and slack take-up rolls.

It Will be apparent that the grooves in the several members of the apparatus over and through which the several tapes pass not only prevent crushing of the beaded edges of the zipper tape during the process of pressing the same, but also serve to maintain the tapes in parallel relation as they traverse the apparatus. In addition, the passages formed between adjoining pairs of the circumferentially grooved drying drums serve to mold and shape the sized corded edge of the tape into the form of a stiffened bead of substantially uniform cross-section through its entire length. As the pressed tapes emerge from between the final slack take-up rolls 3I-32 they may be suitably rolled upon spools in requisite lengths for storage and shipment, the tapes in their final form being of uniform color throughout all of their component parts With their beaded edges in requisite condition and uniform crosssectional shape for subsequent clinching thereto of the zipper elements.

Lt will be understood, of course, that the several elements of the apparatus of the present invention may be relatively arranged other than as shown. For example, the drying drums, the total number of which may be varied as desired, may be arranged in a horizontal rather than in the vertical relation shown, and it will accordingly be understood that the apparatus of the present invention is susceptible of various changes and mcdications which may be made from time vto time without departing from the real spirit and. general principles of the invention, the scope of which is expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. A method of manufacturing beaded zipper tapes which consists in forming a bead along a longitudinally extending edge of a flat tape fabric preliminarily to dyeing the same, in then dyeing the beaded tape, and in thereafter pressing the beaded zipper tape into final condition by simultaneously subjecting the fiat body portion thereof to the pressing action of a pair of opposed flat heated surfaces and the beaded portion thereof to the pressing and shaping action of a pair of opposed complementally grooved heated surfaces.

2. A method of manufacturing beaded zipper tapes which consists in forming a bead along a longitudinally extending edge of a fiat tape fabric preliminarily to dyeing the same, in then dyeing the beaded tape, and in thereafter pressing the beaded zipper tape into final condition by subjecting the flat body portion thereof to the pressing action of a pair of opposed heated surfaces with the beaded edge of the tape noncrushingly disposed during the pressing action between said tape-pressing surfaces.

3. A method of manufacturing beaded zipper tapes whichV consists in forming a bead along a longitudinally extending edge of a flat tape fabric preliminarily to dyeing the same, in then dyeing the beaded tape, and in thereafter pressing the beaded zipper tape into nal condition by action within a recess forifid between said tape-v pressing surfaces to shape Sad beaded edge longitudinally of its length to :1.is1-11gstgazntiaily uniform' cross-section. i

WILLIAM T. CARSON.

REFERENCES cr'iED The following refere'esf arefof record in the file of this patent:

Number 10 Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Westbrook Dec. 10, 1912 Roseman Feb. 25, 1930 Roseman Sept. 1, 1936 Homersley Apr. 20, 1931` Hamm Nov. 9, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Mar. 18, 1912 

